A Certain Someone

A/N: special thanks again goes to my lovely SQ beta, the newly-sainted Wombat. Thank you most kindly, your holiness. ;)

A Certain Someone

Severus Snape sat glowering in a corner, his arms folded across his chest and his chin stiff with silent indignation. What he was doing at Augustus Avery's house, for a holiday party no less, was quite beyond him. His mother had insisted that he attend despite his best efforts to change her mind. As it stood, Severus would have given just about anything to be anywhere other than where he was. He was surrounded by his housemates from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all of whom were dressed in dark velvets and shiny silks. His nose wrinkled almost involuntarily as a young witch in a particularly frilly green robe swept by him, completely oblivious to his presence. He watched the lacy hem of her robe whip around the frame of the drawing room door when a high-pitched giggle disturbingly close to him brought his head jerking around. He gaped in horror as two sixth year students, who he recognized by sight but not by name, inched ever closer to his position with their mouths locked together as if they shared one tongue and their hands groping every body part in reach. Severus jumped from his chair and stalked away, clenching his teeth against the tirade of expletives that longed to burst from his mouth. He was so furious that he did not see Lucius Malfoy, a former housemate who had graduated several years previously, until he was nearly on top of him. Lucius put out a hand to keep the younger man from crashing into him and said with a wide smirk,

"What's the rush, Severus? You can't have reached your tolerance limit yet; that would be a record even for you."

"I've set the record, then. Congratulate me," spat Severus darkly. Lucius laughed, dropping his hand.

"I don't suppose you'll ever lighten up. Still, it can't be much fun, lurking around in the shadows, watching everyone else enjoy themselves." Lucius's face broke into a beautiful, evil grin. "I know what you need. A girl."

"Ah. Well I know you like to--engage in that particular pastime, but frankly, I don't really see the attraction, myself."

Lucius cast an appraising eye over Severus, and said, a bit softer, "So, you...swing the other way, do you?"

"Swing the other...?" And with an uncomfortable jolt, comprehension dawned. "No, I don't 'swing the other way.' I meant to say that 'swinging' in general is what I find unappealing. All the twittering and--" Severus's nose wrinkled again, "cooing. It turns my stomach."

"HA!" Lucius clapped him forcefully on the back, causing Severus to buckle forward a bit. "Well that's true enough. It can be tedious indeed, although the benefits rather outweigh the hassles, I think." As he spoke, Lucius's eyes wandered over to a small cluster of younger women, in the center of which was an extremely pretty girl with fair skin and long, golden blonde hair. Severus followed his gaze, and immediately recognized Narcissa Black, the most popular Slytherin girl in his year. When he looked back to Lucius, he found the man staring at him, the smile still on his face but an icy, threatening glint in his eyes.

"That one," said Lucius softly, "is--"

"Not my type," said Severus, cutting him off in mild irritation.

"Ah yes," said Lucius silkily, one corner of his mouth curling ever so slightly toward the ceiling, "I seem to remember hearing somewhere that you prefer redheads."

Severus scowled heavily.

"I prefer my solitude."

Lucius chuckled, and shook his head.

"You're unlikely to find much solitude tonight, I'm afraid. Evan tells me that Gertrude Bullstrode is planning to make her move on you tonight."

Severus's eyes widened in horror.

"Please tell me you are joking."

"Wish I were, Severus," said Lucius, chuckling once more. "If you still want that solitude, I suggest you find a good hiding place. As I understand it, Gertrude may not be the brightest of Slytherins, but she does have a rather--persistent--reputation."

Severus needed no further incentive. He sidled over to the drawing room door as fast as he dared without drawing attention to himself and dashed through it with some vague idea of waiting the party out in the library or the kitchen. Both of those ideas were dashed, however, when he caught the echoes of a heated argument as he ventured further down the main corridor. A man and a woman, presumably Avery's mother and father, were taking it in turns to yell a mix of harsh words, sneering criticisms and vulgar insults at each other in one of the rooms nearer to the kitchen. Sounds like home, Severus thought humorlessly to himself as he veered off along a shorter hallway that lead back to the main staircase. At the foot of the stairs, he hesitated. It was not exactly proper etiquette for a guest to wander through his gracious host's home at will. But the thought of Gertrude Bullstrode batting her heavy eyelids at him was disagreeable enough to send him bounding up the steps two at a time. He swooped down the upstairs corridor, hoping to find a secluded spot as quickly as possible. A door near the end of the hallway caught his attention. It stood slightly ajar, which meant he could peek inside without having to risk turning the knob. He pushed the door open a bit wider, and stuck his head in just enough to scan the room. It looked to be some sort of den or office, and it was mercifully empty. Severus ducked inside and quietly pulled the door closed behind him. Sighing with relief, he turned to have a closer look at his refuge for the night.

There was a bookcase full of old texts, which he eyed eagerly, but frowned in disappointment when he discovered that they were all old school textbooks and beginner's manuals. A large glass cabinet stood facing the bookcase on the other side of the room. Severus glanced over the items on display with interest, and again suffered a minor disappointment when the most remarkable thing turned out to be a very old and very damaged bell clock with runic symbols written on the face. A tall, narrow closet next to the glass cabinet revealed nothing more exciting than several dusty and foul-smelling robes. Sitting before the window was a large wooden harp. Severus did not recognize the piece of music on the stand beside the instrument. The next thing he saw caused him to let out a soft moan of longing. A short but wide cupboard stood full to overflowing with every rare, difficult-to-find (and even a few illegal) potion ingredient any witch or wizard could ask for. He considered engaging in a few experiments to pass the time when he noticed that the cauldron sitting on the desk next to the cupboard was already bubbling. Then he saw that a Potions textbook lay next to the cauldron, and that it was open to a page marked "Memory Enhancing Elixir." It took him only a heartbeat to realize that he was about to have company, unless the potion's creator desired a cauldron full of useless goop. He managed to dive into the narrow closet just as the office door opened and a young witch walked in, carrying a handful of what looked like rosemary sprigs in her hand. Severus could just see her through the crack made by the closet door's hinges. She was very thin and willowy, and looked as if a stiff wind might knock her over. Her skin was olive-toned, but pale, as if she spent most of her time indoors. Half of her long, dark hair was drawn up in a barrette away from her face, which was rather plain, but made more so than it might have usually been by the morose expression she was wearing. Although her name escaped him, he recognized her as Augustus Avery's younger sister, a fifth year. But a fifth year should be well beyond Memory Enhancing Elixirs, he thought to himself, especially a Ravenclaw fifth year. She stripped the rosemary leaves from their stems and tossed them into the cauldron, watching them sink slowly into the simmering liquid. Then she plunged a wooden spoon into the cauldron and began stirring vigorously. Severus bit his lip to keep from groaning audibly. She was following the textbook's instructions, which meant that if she were anything but exacting with her next ingredient, things could get complicated. Sure enough, after five minutes of stirring, she left the spoon twirling in the cauldron and reached for a small linen pouch already sitting on the desk. The girl leaned over the textbook, clearly consulting the suggested measurement, and added a pinch of powder from the linen pouch. Abruptly, a thick yellow smoke that stank of burning rubber poured out of the cauldron and engulfed the room in an acrid haze. The girl began coughing violently; Severus heard her run to the window and throw it open. He had been holding his breath for nearly a minute when his lungs finally gave out. With the first gasping breath, he drew in a large waft of the smoke and had no choice but to burst out of the closet, coughing and sputtering. He could not see the young witch through the smoke, but he quickly decided that he had no choice but to take action. He pulled out his wand and performed a nonverbal banishing charm, reasoning that he couldn't speak without choking on his words anyway. The smoke immediately dissipated, leaving Severus to stand before the girl, who was watery-eyed and looking utterly terrified.

"Sorry, I was looking for your lavatory," he lied.

To his complete bewilderment and deep embarrassment, the girl suddenly burst into tears.

"I don't understand it!" she exclaimed in anguish. "I've tried to make that potion five times now, and something like this always happens! What's wrong with me?!"

"It wasn't your fault," said Severus, shoving his wand back inside his robes.

"How could it not be? The only constant in every potion has been me!"

"You're forgetting the book," said Severus, nodding his head toward the textbook, "Libatius Borage is notoriously inaccurate with his measurement notations."

The girl stopped crying after hearing this, though large tears continued to roll silently down her cheeks. She regarded Severus with mild surprise.

"I didn't know that," she said, sniffing quietly.

"I'm not surprised. I've recommended several superior alternatives to Professor Slughorn, but he seemed to think a change in text might 'upset the status quo.'" Severus's brow furrowed heavily as he quoted his Potions Master and Head of House.

"Which textbook would you recommend?" asked the girl eagerly.

Severus blinked. He could not recall the last time, if ever there had been one, that someone had genuinely requested his opinion. It took him a moment to recover from the shock.

"Beguiling Brews for Beginners by Arsenius Jigger is a good place to start. He's written a few worthwhile books, although he too could be more precise, in my opinion."

The girl walked over to the bookcase and quickly scanned the spines. Selecting an old and rather beaten book, she carried it over to the desk, holding it out so Severus could see.

"This one is by Arsenius Jigger, Magical Draughts and Potions. Have you read it?"

"Yes, several times."

"Is it good?" the girl asked as she excitedly flipped through the pages.

"Well...it's an improvement over the one you've been using."

Severus shifted uncomfortably. This girl was speaking to him almost casually, as if chatting with an older, unfamiliar student was something she did on a regular basis. Most girls avoided speaking to Severus at all, if they could help it; the result of his many years of hard work toward that end. The girls who did speak to him either had a grudging permission, or were quick to regret it. The young witch had found the page covering Memory Enhancing Elixirs, and was scanning the directions with a forefinger. She seemed to suddenly remember that she was not alone. She turned to Severus and flashed a shy smile, and he felt another, much larger surge of discomfort.

"My name is Angelica. You're one of Gus's friends, aren't you?"

Severus jerked his head forward in assent.

"I would try to guess your name, but I'm afraid that my brother is the only Slytherin I know very well at all."

"Severus Snape," he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. He was beginning to feel more and more ill at ease with this girl. He had no wish to know her name, or anything else about her. Suddenly the office, which had seemed so promising only a half-hour ago, was far too claustrophobic for his taste.

"I should return to the party," he said, dreading the very prospect.

"Oh." He watched as her face fell slowly back to the morose expression she had been wearing when he'd seen her from the closet. "All right. It was nice talking to you, Severus."

He jerked his head again, and walked toward the door. A loud thud and a garbled cry of pain drifted into the room from the top of the staircase, and Severus glanced around the door in time to see a disgruntled Gertrude Bullstrode pulling herself off of the floor, having just tripped over the last carpeted step. He hastily withdrew back into the room, closed the door and locked it securely with one flick of his wand. In spite of these precautions, he took several steps away from the door when the knob rattled insistently from the other side. Gertrude banged a few times on the door, rattled the knob again, and with a loud, frustrated grunt clunked away down the hall and back down the steps. Severus waited until he could no longer hear Gertrude's heavy footsteps before he turned back to see Angelica looking at him. She was plainly trying not to smile, although the knowing look in her eyes irritated him as much as any laughter. He stuffed his wand back inside his robes and glowered.

"Gertrude Bullstrode suffers under the delusion that she and I have anything in common other than our school House."

"I wish someone would have a crush on me like that," said Angelica, forgetting not to smile. "I'm not interesting enough."

"You're from a fine, old wizarding family. That still counts for a lot to some."

The smile evaporated from her face.

"Yes, it does. To some." Her expression became so melancholy that Severus feared she might cry again.

"My family name is the only thing I have to offer as well," he said, attempting to distract her.

"Snape?" she asked, though her tone did not suggest much interest.

"No, Prince," said Snape, marveling at the same time that he was sharing this with anyone, much less this strange girl. "My mother's maiden name is Prince. Her family has a rather proud and important history."

Angelica looked at him, the corners of her mouth still tipped downward, and her eyes still dangerously bright.

"I would give anything to be Muggle-born," she pronounced.

Severus stared at her incredulously.

"Why on earth would you wish something like that?" he asked, astounded.

"A Muggle-born witch doesn't have to worry about upholding the family's good name. A Muggle-born witch doesn't have to beat her brains out trying to be the best at everything because that is what's expected of her. A Muggle-born witch doesn't--" she shuddered as a soft sob tried to break free, "doesn't have to live in fear of an arranged marriage to some...some..." and before she could finish, the sob took control of her tongue, and she clasped both hands tightly over her face.

Severus watched her cry silently, not knowing what to say to console her even if he had been willing to try. Instead, he stood rigidly still, waiting for her sobs to pass and feeling increasingly alarmed at the effect the sound of them produced in his gut.

"I'm sorry," she said when the worst of it was over. She turned away from him and wiped furiously at her eyes with both hands.

"I'm sorry," she said again, taking a great shuddering breath and turning back to him, smiling once more. "That was really rude, I apologize."

"Think nothing of it," he muttered, intensely relieved that she had finished.

The rest of their evening together passed quite pleasantly. She kept her line of questioning strictly to the topic of potion-making, for which he was grateful. He explained to her the reasons why a solid silver cauldron worked better for brewing Dreaming Draughts than a silver-lined one; he showed her the proper technique for crushing juniper berries; and he wrote out a long list of thoroughly detailed directions for the most popular Sedulous Solution to take before a difficult exam. Severus was unnerved, and a little pleased (though he could not bring himself to admit it). For the first time in his life, he was standing beside a girl, even speaking to her and interacting with her, and he did not feel the overwhelming urge to slink away into the shadows. Even more incredibly, she seemed to actually enjoy his presence; she would sigh in triumph when she got something right, and gaze at him expectantly when she asked him a question, which she did often. In fact, he was halfway through a particularly long explanation of why fresh mugwort far surpassed dried in all quick-brewing potions when they both heard the tell-tale clamor and rumble of many pairs of feet mulling about the foot of the staircase. Severus leapt from his chair and walked quickly to the door, afraid of being discovered where he ought not to be. At the door, he turned and found that he had no idea what to say. He stood in awkward silence for a moment before Angelica spoke for him.

"Thank you for all your help, Severus. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he said. He wanted to say something else, though he was unsure how to say it. If he had truly mulled it over, he might have discovered that a small part of himself didn't really want to say it anyway. As it was, Angelica guessed at the reason behind his silent struggle.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll forget all about each other before the new term starts." Again, she flashed him that small, shy smile.

He gave a small nod and yanked the door open, striding purposefully down the hall, although he descended the staircase as quietly and stealthily as he could. He managed to blend into the throng of young people leaving the house undetected. He located his mother standing a bit apart from the other parents who had arrived to collect their children, and with another nod to her, they walked down the front path and onto the sidewalk.

"Did you have a good time?" his mother asked quietly.

Severus gave the slightest of shrugs.

"Meet any interesting people?"

Severus shrugged again, but shot a glance over his shoulder at the house that was quickly fading out of sight.

"Just one," he whispered.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the normal routine struck up quickly, and Severus contentedly kept to himself without protest from anyone. He started off the new term, as usual, by coming off the worse in a hallway fight with a Gryffindor student, James Potter, who had somehow bewitched Severus's books to smack him repeatedly in the face. Severus had managed a nice little Tripping Charm himself, although James's friends had removed it long before Severus had disenchanted the last of the attacking textbooks. He watched, seething, as the three of them lifted James to his feet; Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew still laughing heartily, the former howling loudly in a particularly malicious fashion. The third boy, Remus Lupin, was the one to pull James away before the fight could continue. Severus gritted his teeth painfully hard as he watched Remus purposefully avoiding his eyes, tugging James's arm insistently while James shouted a few choice insults as they retreated. What he wouldn't give to get that arrogant, self-important bully by himself in some dark alley...what he wouldn't give to be free to reveal the information that he knew would ruin all four of their lives. He was so preoccupied with these highly satisfying thoughts that he didn't realize that a girl had collected his things into a neat pile before she had already walked away. He only just caught a glimpse of the back of her long dark hair as she disappeared around a corner, but it was enough for him to recognize the girl as Angelica Avery.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Severus did not see Angelica again, not even a glimpse of her, for the next few weeks. As a fifth year, she was undoubtedly consumed by her O.W.L. exam preparations, much as he was carefully grooming himself for his N.E.W.T. exams. He spent countless hours in a deserted corner of the library, poring over ancient tomes and obscure research journals. It was during one of these long nights that Severus heard Angelica's voice from the other side of the long bookshelf behind him.

"...nothing I can do about it," she was whispering sadly.

"Of course there is, Angelica," said another voice Severus didn't recognize.

"You're going to tell me to run away," sighed Angelica. "It won't work, Flora. Mum and Dad would find me no matter where I went. Dad's reputation is on the line. Not to mention that I have nowhere to go, anyway."

"Well I can't believe you're not even going to try," said the girl named Flora. "I certainly wouldn't just give up. I'd run off and elope with someone before I let my parents marry me off to some--"

"Shhh!" hissed Angelica. "Flora, you know very well that my parents don't allow me to socialize outside of school. Believe me, if I knew anyone to ask for help, I would have, a long time ago."

"But surely the headmaster..."

"He can't do anything about it," whispered Angelica, her voice breaking. "Something else my parents have made abundantly clear."

"Well, someone else at school, then," said Flora. "There must be someone."

Angelica laughed, though it sounded far more like a sob.

"Yes, my great beauty and charm have made me so popular that I've intimidated all of the boys; that must be the reason no one has so much as cast me a second glance. And here I had always thought it was because I'm an ugly little Avery with no friends, save you, Flora, and a great menacing fascist of a brother prowling the corridors in my wake. They've all made quite sure that I have no choice: my parents, my brother, even his family."

Severus heard Flora sigh in exasperation.

"Well, you can always go to the Ministry, can't you? It is illegal now."

"Yes, I could. I might hate my parents for doing this, but...Azkaban? And then who knows what would happen to my father afterward? I don't think I could live with that, I really don't."

Their conversation ended abruptly when a third, lower voice begged pardon of them, presumably to pass by them in the aisle. Severus heard Angelica and Flora move away, still whispering adamantly, but he couldn't make out anything further. So Angelica hadn't been speaking hypothetically on the night of the party, he realized. She truly was betrothed to someone; a man she obviously did not want to marry. The practice of arranged marriages was indeed archaic, and the Ministry had outlawed the coercive marriage of an unwilling individual two or three dozen years earlier, though that had not stopped certain wizarding families from continuing to observe the tradition in private. Severus shrugged, forcing himself to turn back to the book he'd been reading. What did it matter to him who Angelica married, and why? It was none of his business, and he reminded himself aggressively that he did not particularly care. After several tries, he finally began to believe it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The next time Severus saw Angelica was during one of the students' weekend excursions to the nearby wizarding village of Hogsmeade. He had spent most of the morning browsing in the small Apothecary on Legerdemain Lane and was just turning onto the main street when he caught sight of her. She was standing outside of Scrivenshaft's Fine Quills and Quires admiring something on display in the window. He paused, wondering if he should take an alternate route so as to avoid having to speak with her, but was soon saved the trouble by a group of sixth year Slytherin girls. He was too far away from them to hear what they were saying, but he saw one of the Slytherins, obviously the little gang's leader, speaking to Angelica with her arms crossed and a thick sneer on her face. Angelica answered the girl with her eyes on the ground and her lips barely moving. The Slytherins must have found whatever Angelica had said amusing, because they broke out in a loud and very unladylike laughter. The head Slytherin girl pointed at Angelica and said something else, jabbing her finger repeatedly to give certain words a larger emphasis. Angelica looked up when the girl had finished and stared at her, with something like defiance written all over her face. Whatever she said in reply was very brief and apparently very sober, for the Slytherins abruptly stopped laughing. The head Slytherin took a step back, made some kind of exclamation with a cross expression on her face, and lead her group of friends quickly away. Severus kept his eyes on Angelica as she watched the Slytherin girls leave. He saw her slip into a tiny alley between Scrivenshaft's and its neighboring shop after the Slytherins had turned a corner. Without giving himself time to consider his reasons for doing so, he followed Angelica into the dark, narrow alley. He found her there, leaning against a brick wall and looking forlorn, but mercifully free of tears. She looked up when she heard him approaching.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

Severus had just asked himself the same question.

"I saw those Slytherin sixth years speaking to you."

"Tricia Rafferty. She likes to amuse herself at my expense, even more so when her friends are there to watch." Angelica kicked at a stone on the ground. "She might regret it one day."

"You seemed to handle it well."

Angelica looked at him.

"Thanks. I guess I've just decided not to be afraid anymore."

Her words had an odd, heavy ring to them that Severus did not miss, but could not even begin to place. Perhaps she was disappointed he had not come to her rescue?

"I hope you can understand why I did not intervene," he said, trying his best to sound cavalier and unrepentant.

She flashed him her small, shy smile.

"Of course. We're complete strangers, remember?"

She straightened up, smoothing out the creases in the front of her robes.

"I was about to buy a new quill before Tricia stopped me. I should probably go do that before it gets too late."

"Right," Severus said, glancing skyward to gauge the time. "Well. See you around."

"Severus," Angelica called as he neared the end of the alley. He turned around.

"Thanks for coming to talk to me," she said with sincerity. "Isn't it odd; you always seem to be there when I really need someone."

Again, Severus felt that distressing and vaguely frightening sensation lurking around the pit of his stomach. She was regarding him in silence, the shy smile still lingering on her lips, though a small crease had formed between her eyebrows, as if someone had just asked her a difficult question. He was curious, but he did not trust himself to speak. He nodded curtly at her and skulked out of the alley, heading back to Hogwarts and furiously berating himself for getting involved in the first place.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The end of his school career was looming on the horizon, and Severus could not have been more grateful. He had every confidence in the outcome of his N.E.W.T.s. Academic achievement had always come fairly naturally to him. Still, he preferred to leave nothing to chance, and continued to spend the majority of his waking hours sequestered in some lonely corner of the library. On one such evening, a small, crumpled piece of paper fell onto the book he was reading, and he looked up to see Angelica walking away without so much as catching his eye. His brow furrowing in confusion, he flattened the crumpled piece of paper and read:

Please meet me in the prefect's bathroom,

Tonight, at midnight.

Fourth door to the left of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor.

The password is 'Mountain Breeze.'

Severus read the note twice, and both times he finished reading in total perplexity. What could she possibly want of him? Did she think he could somehow help her? Did she think he might be willing to elope? The very idea caused his chest to tighten uncomfortably. At the same time, his curiosity was piqued. He was fairly certain Angelica was not a prefect; how had she gotten access to their bathroom? Despite the dangers, Severus decided to go. He reasoned that the worst thing that could happen would be another sobbing fit, and as unpleasant as that might be, it was well within his ability to withstand.

Since he was usually one of the last to leave the Slytherin Common Room for bed, his presence there raised no suspicions as the last of his housemates trudged out of the room toward the dormitories. He waited for a moment to make sure no one returned, and then snapped shut the book he'd been pretending to read. Hoping that the sound of scraping stone would not wake anyone, he stole out of the Common Room and crept along the deserted corridors, keeping to the shadows with a stealth that only comes from experience. Reaching the fifth floor, he easily found the door to the prefect's bathroom. He whispered the password Angelica had given him, and slipped inside when the door opened.

Angelica stood up from the chair on which she'd been sitting, her eyes a bit wider than usual and her face very pale. She walked over and latched the door behind him. Then she took out her wand and waved it at the walls, the floor and the ceiling in turn, muttering under her breath. Pocketing her wand, she finally spoke to him, though she seemed reluctant to look him in the eyes.

"That is so we can't be interrupted."

Severus nodded, having guessed as much. He pointed to a painting on the wall over which a towel was carefully draped.

"That too?"

Angelica glanced at the covered painting and nodded.

"What do you want?" he asked, when she did not continue.

Angelica hesitated.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," she said, "but I asked you to come here in the hopes that you might be willing to do a favor for me."

Severus nodded again, trying to unclench his jaw.

"I don't know if...well, I mentioned it during Gus's party, but maybe you didn't..." She looked at him questioningly, but he only stared back at her, waiting in dread for the other shoe to drop.

"My parents are forcing me to marry Antonin Dolohov after I've graduated from Hogwarts," Angelica said in a terrified rush. "And I'd really rather die. In fact, I was contemplating just that when you last spoke to me, in Hogsmeade. How to best do it, and all of that. But after I spoke with you, I suddenly realized I didn't have to kill myself just to get out of the engagement. There is another way."

She was about to ask him to elope, he knew, and he'd neglected to think up an appropriate response in the negative. He fought the impulse to flee as she neared him, looking up into his face with her wide, hazel-colored eyes.

"Severus," she whispered, "will you please make love to me?"

The breath caught in his lungs and his heart skipped a beat. He was certain he had misunderstood.

"What?" he gasped.

"He won't want me if I've...if another man has...the contract between Dolohov and my parents would be nullified, and I'd be free. My parents have no real control over me while I'm at school, so he couldn't blame them. They could concentrate on their 'perfect' child and forget I ever existed. Everyone wins," she said, and her tone might have been bitter if she were not so visibly frightened.

Severus took an involuntary step backward.

"But...surely, there is someone else, someone you'd prefer..."

Angelica shook her head vigorously.

"There is no one else I can ask. I promise you, I wouldn't even suggest it to you if I didn't think I had to."

"But..." Severus took another step back. "You're only a fifth year. Who knows what will happen in another two years; you may meet someone..."

"Severus, you and I both know the likelihood of that," she said in utter misery. "Who is going to fall for someone as thoroughly undesirable as me?"

Severus snorted, taking yet another step behind him.

"Undesirable? You're honestly using that word to describe yourself, when the majority of Hogwarts considers me the most undesirable wizard in the entire school?"

"But they don't know you, Severus, they don't know what you're like," she said, her eyes wide and pleading. "No boy has ever been as decent to me as you've been. That's why it's right that it should be you. I want it to be you."

She had gone too far. It was time for him to put a stop to this. He planted his feet together and stood to his fullest height, staring down his nose at her anxious expression.

"If I have given you the wrong impression," he said softly, easing into the familiar comfort of cool detachment, "then I must apologize. I never intentionally sought out any kind of relationship with you. We were thrust into a situation together, and I admit, I took pity. I have neither the time, nor the patience for romance, I'm afraid. I'm very sorry."

Angelica stared at him in silence for several moments, large tears welling in each eye, though she made no sound. She moved to stand directly before him, staring up into his face. Without warning, her expression changed from one of despair and embarrassment to the same fiery, defiant look she'd worn when Tricia Rafferty had confronted her. She slid her small hands up to grasp the nape of his neck, and before he could protest, she whispered,

"I'm not asking for a romance."

She pulled his face toward her as she stood on her toes and kissed him firmly on his lips. He reached up, fumbling to grasp her hands in his as she continued to kiss him, the beginnings of panic rising in his chest as he felt his body responding to her touch. He wrenched her hands from his neck and pushed her away, breathing heavily as their lips parted. She too was panting slightly, her face flushed and her eyes locked on his. He wanted to say something angry; he wanted to yell at her and make her cry. That, at least, he knew how to deal with. His body had other ideas, however, and his brain did not want to function well enough for him to form any coherent words. She approached him again, and he cast her a wary look.

"Severus, please," she said, close to tears once again. "No one will ever know it was you unless you wish it. I certainly won't tell anyone. And if it's my intentions that have you worried, you needn't be concerned. You've made your feelings clear. I have no expectations for the future."

She inched closer to him, watching him hopefully.

"I'll have no future unless you help me. Please, Severus," she whispered again.

He stared at her, his breath slowly returning to normal, though his heart continued to hammer savagely against his ribcage. His face remained totally impassive as she closed the distance between them, reaching a tentative hand up behind his neck again. And this time, when she leaned up to kiss him, he did not struggle. She ran her free hand along his chest to join the other behind his neck, leaving gentle kisses on his lips. She pressed her body to his, and his arms wrapped themselves around her waist. He felt his face burning with desire. Things inside of himself that he'd worked so long and hard to suppress suddenly burst into life, and he completely let go of all reason. All that mattered was this creature in his arms, and the satisfaction to be had. He began to return her kisses with an almost ravenous compulsion, his hands moving along her body and up to stroke her cheeks, which he discovered were burning as warm as his. He felt her hands searching for the clasps on his robes and obligingly opened them for her, groping around for the fastenings on her own. She broke apart from him in order to pull her jumper off over her head, and began to unbutton her shirt, staring at him as he watched her. He kicked off his shoes, threw off his jumper and shirt, and pulled off his socks, all the while having to contend with clumsy fingers and shaking hands. She was just sliding her skirt and undergarment to the floor as he looked up from tugging off the sock from his right foot. She stood before him, completely naked and trembling from head to toe. Her hands were balled into fists, her hair was slightly mussed, and she seemed unable or unwilling to look directly at him. The sight of her naked body caused a riot of convulsions in his chest and several other sensitive areas. He took advantage of her averted gaze to remove his pants and boxers, fighting off the flicker of apprehension that threatened his pleasure in the moment as he too stood totally naked on the white marble floor. He moved over to her, reaching out to touch her waist, and felt her shiver violently. He slid both arms around her and drew her close, delighting in the feel of her bare skin against his. He bent down to kiss her again, and she returned his kiss, timidly running her hands along his arms and shoulders. The heat slowly drained from his face, and he began to feel an urgent longing the likes of which he'd never felt before. He pressed his body to hers and heard her gasp as she felt the evidence of his desire dig into her abdomen. She broke apart from him, her chest heaving.

"Wait," she whispered, and Severus heard a note of panic in her voice.

"I thought--You said you wanted this," said Severus, trying not to sound accusatory.

"I did, I do," she said, finally looking into his eyes. "It's just...I've never done this before, and I..." Her voice faded until it was barely audible. "I'm scared."

Severus regarded her for a moment.

"I've never done this before either," he said quietly.

"You haven't?"

"You're surprised?" he asked, scowling.

"Well...I...well," she said, her face breaking into her signature shy smile. She's almost pretty, when she smiles like that, Severus thought, and moved toward her again. She reached out for him, pressing her body against his and wrapping her arms around his back as he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. He slid his palms down the sides of her body, slowly, until he reached her buttocks, which he grasped tightly and pulled up toward him. She gasped again when his member prodded just below her stomach, but this time, she reached a tentative hand down to touch it. He shuddered involuntarily as her hand closed over his erection and groaned softly when she explored the length of it, her fingers dancing around the base and then the head. When he finally managed to wrench open his eyes, he found her staring down at his torso, apparently fascinated with the feel of him in her hands. Fearing that he might lose control then and there, he pulled her forcefully to the floor. She allowed him to draw her down, but squeaked in protest when her bare skin touched the marble.

"It's cold," she whispered, shivering. "Towels."

She jumped up, dashed to a nearby chair that held a large stack of neatly-folded white towels, and carried a handful over to Severus. She arranged two or three on the floor with trembling hands. It took all of his concentration not to reach up and force her to the floor as she spread the towels beside him. The sight of two firm, bare breasts mere inches from his face did nothing to help his patience.

When she had finally laid the towels out to her satisfaction, he pulled her down on top of them, the snarling, urgent sensation growing inside him exponentially. He laid over her, kissing her mouth, her neck; cupping one of her small breasts in his hands and reveling over the taste of the other on his tongue as she moaned loudly. The sounds she made did more to him than he would have thought possible. His movements became the swift, shaky, yet decisive gestures of someone on the very brink of desperation.

He knocked her bent knees out of his way and positioned himself between her legs. He felt her body tremble with cold, or anticipation, or fear; he couldn't tell which and he was well beyond caring. He pressed himself into her, unsure of his technique but determined to succeed. He tried again and she gasped, adjusting herself beneath him and lifting her pelvis to meet his. He looked down at her face and saw that her eyes were clenched shut and that she was biting her lower lip. He pressed into her again, and this time it was he who gasped when his member slid inside of her. The inviting sensation of being encased in her warmth was accompanied by an overpowering relief, and if his body had not been demanding further action, he could have settled himself on top of her and fallen asleep right there on the hard marble floor. It was easily the most pleasurable thing he had ever felt in his life.

He inched himself in as deeply as he could and began to push in and pull out with long, slow strokes, letting the intense gratification pass through him with each one. Angelica still bit her lip in a vain effort to keep from whimpering, but could not contain herself as he plunged into her over and over. The short, loud gasps that escaped her mouth, which Severus might have recognized as evidence of pain had he not been preoccupied, changed gradually into soft, humming grunts. When she started to moan into his ear each time he moved inside of her, the hairs on his neck prickled and his sense of urgency doubled in a single instant.

He began to pick up some speed, and she grasped his shoulders tightly as he thrust into her with an ever-increasing fervor. He felt the knot of desire that had been building since she'd first kissed him suddenly contract, and he thrashed into her wildly, losing himself completely to the void where thought does not exist. He felt Angelica's body moving with his, he felt her nails digging into his shoulders, and he heard her whisper his name in a soft, gasping breath. And suddenly, the knot sprang open and Severus groaned loudly as the most indescribable sensation of release washed over him in rapturous waves.

His ears were ringing and it was several moments before he realized that he was laughing. Laughing. It was another new and completely unexpected feeling, as if his heart and his body had momentarily beaten his brain into submission. He looked down at Angelica, who began to laugh herself, tugging him down close to her as they both lay panting heavily on the floor. They rested there like that for quite some time. Severus enjoyed the feel of her body beneath his long after his member had slipped out of her.

Finally, Severus rolled over to one side and sat up, burning the image of her naked body into his memory, determined to savor it as long as he lived. She sat up as well, drawing a towel around herself and grinning from ear to ear, though she seemed to be having some difficulty looking him in the eye yet again.

"Th-thank you," she said, clearing her throat. "That was...wonderful."

He desperately wanted to agree with her, but could not bring himself to say the words. He compromised with himself by offering a small nod. He began to collect his clothing, hastily pulling on his boxers and pants, and jamming his socks onto his feet. He was lacing up his shoes when he realized that Angelica hadn't moved.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" he asked.

"I'm going to take a bath first, I think," she said, still half-avoiding his gaze.

"That reminds me," he said, remembering the question he'd had earlier. "If you're not a prefect, how do you know the password to the prefect's bathroom?"

A mischievous glint twinkled in her eye as she answered.

"I'm not a prefect, but my friend Flora Fiorentino is. I doubt that she would have given me the password if she knew the real reason I asked her for it. She thinks I plan to use it to brew a love potion to get someone to fall in love with me and rescue me from Antonin Dolohov."

Severus threw his robes over his shoulders and fastened the clasp, looking down at Angelica and finding himself at an utter loss for words. He wanted to say something to her, offer her some comfort. In the fierce abandon of just a short while ago, he'd have been able to admit to himself that he wanted to stay with her as long as he could. But now he simply could not do it. Whatever walls he usually had in place to keep others out and to lock himself away were quickly sliding back into position. His laughter and everything that had come before it were rapidly fading into the darkest recesses of his mind. Angelica looked up at him, and her small smile did not falter at his newly-stolid expression.

"Thank you again, Severus," she said, quite formally, "I owe you...I can't tell you what I owe you."

"You're welcome," said Severus awkwardly.

"I'll keep my promises, I swear it on my life," she continued, using one hand to steady herself as she rose from the floor, the other hand clasping the towel around her body. "And nothing will change for the rest of our time at school. Perfect strangers, as usual." She winked at him through her smile.

Severus nodded again, the elation he'd felt that night quickly becoming as foreign to him as the most forgotten of his long-forgotten memories. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, he turned and headed for the door. He paused with the handle in his hand, cursing himself for being weak enough to hope that she might call him back, but she did not. He jerked the door open and crept out into the corridor, letting the door's own weight pull itself shut. He had an uneventful journey back to the Slytherin Common Room and slunk into his dormitory without notice. He lay awake for the rest of the night, wondering if Angelica was still in the prefect's bathroom, and if she was still thinking of him.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

As promised, Angelica completely ignored Severus for the rest of the school year, which pleased him less than he'd imagined it would. Two days after their midnight tryst, Augustus Avery received a letter from home over breakfast, and upon reading it jumped up from the table, howling with rage. He caused quite a commotion, marching over to Angelica, screaming incoherently, waving his arms, and scaring a few Ravenclaw first years nearly out of their wits. She bore the entire incident with her small, secret smile displayed for all the school to see. She did not look at Severus even once, though he stared at her unabashedly through the entire thing. Within hours, the school was abuzz with the fact that Angelica Avery was no longer a 'maiden of virtue,' as one of her fellow Ravenclaws had put it. She endured the whispering and the jeering with her chin lifted and her shoulders set, walking around the school and the grounds as if she had not a care in the world. Indeed, after the rumor mill had had its first go at the subject, Angelica became a bit of a school celebrity. The Ravenclaws maintained that the story was entirely a Slytherin invention, created with the intention to discredit one of their own. The Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs weren't sure what to believe, but Angelica's gracious and mature composure through the whole event secured her reputation with most of them as someone with remarkable grace under fire. The Slytherins continued to jeer and make rude comments; Tricia Rafferty never lost an opportunity to follow Angelica, cat-calling at her as they went. Severus watched it all, feigning indifference, but longing to find some reason to speak to Angelica again. No reason ever came to him. He took his N.E.W.T.s, passing each of them with his usual ease. Angelica took her O.W.L.s, and astounded everyone by coming out on top for all but two subjects.

In the years to come, Severus would think of Angelica often, though as he got older, and life and his bitterness lead him to make some very bad choices, the memories became less and less vivid. After he'd been a teacher at Hogwarts himself for two years, he came across a small article in the Daily Prophet announcing Angelica Avery's marriage to a man named Bertram Fane, a Muggle, causing Severus to lose his appetite and dole out unusually harsh punishments (even for him) for the rest of the week. For her part, Angelica, true to her word, never forgot what Severus had done for her. She told her new husband the whole story, in bits and pieces, after she had revealed herself as a witch. When Bertram asked, through teeth clenched in suppressed jealousy, for the name of her 'savior' (as she called him), she flashed him a small, shy smile and said, "Oh...it was just a certain someone."